


the galactic railroad

by megalaragaruda



Category: Pop'n Music (Game)
Genre: Gen, Inspired by Novel, Mental Health Issues
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-12-14
Updated: 2016-12-14
Packaged: 2018-09-08 13:09:49
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,777
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8846332
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/megalaragaruda/pseuds/megalaragaruda
Summary: Alone, you stand alongside the tree atop the hill. With your hand braced against the bark, you push off.





	

**Author's Note:**

> 11.14.16  
> inspired by miyazawa kenji's night on the galactic railroad  
> 

It starts out like usual.

The jeers and laughing of those around you makes your skin go cold, your gut flipping onto itself as you hide behind your bangs desperately. You're only sitting by yourself, just like always, and not even from behind your muffling headphones can you block out the rest of the world. The rest of the world that seems as if it wants nothing to do with you, as if it doesn't even know you exist.

 _I want to escape,_ you think to yourself, shoulders closing in on themselves as you hug your knees. The beginning of a panic attack, one more chip off the stability of your emotional cover. You can already feel the hot tears forming, and you want to die.

On shaky legs, you stand in the grass and run away without looking back.

The summer wind blows against your face while the colors of the setting sun cast extravagant shadows across the pavement. Blurs of the burning sun over the midnight blue town on your left, and no particular destination on your right. But you run to the only place you know, the only place where you can find comfort and safety—

With shallow breaths, you slow your pace as you step onto the grassy hill.

Everything is orange and pink, and the large tree which you've grown up with casts a massive, blue shadow across the field. Softly, the sound of each blade rustling in the wind fills your ears, and you begin to relax.

After regaining your composure, you take a few steps towards the tree. Billowing pink cumulonimbus clouds tower behind it, the atmospheric remnants of earlier still lingering here. Beneath the shade of this comfort, you can breathe again, and you close your eyes with an inaudible sigh. Ignore the rest of the world, pretend it doesn't exist.

_Escape._

When you reopen your eyes, the familiar sunset-colored landscape is replaced with a starry meadow beneath a vast, galactic sky.

Blinking in shock, you swivel in every direction, trying to obtain an understanding of where you are. With your gloved hand behind you, you can feel the rough, dusty roots of your tree— that much is still here, you note with relief— but everything else... The town, the stone stairs and the gentle river beyond it, all of it has disappeared.

Alone, you stand alongside the tree atop the hill. With your hand braced against the bark, you push off and decide to investigate.

There is no moon; twinkling stars fill the obsidian sky like fine sugar, and the Milky Way extends across the entire expanse of sky, as if streaked with the thickest paint brush. Breathless, you find it difficult to tear your eyes away from the sight, even though bending your neck back hurts so much. When you finally face forwards, a single train sits in front of you, on a lone set of tracks you hadn't noticed before. The train itself appears old: red and old-fashioned, a bit quaint and curious. Without realizing it, you step towards the train, drawn to its strange and peculiar existence.

The train whistles loud and clear throughout the summer air, and the suddenness of it makes you jump. You don't cease walking though; with careful steps, you climb into one of the cars and observe the interior.

Similar to the outside of the train, the seats appear old-fashioned but well-kept. The entire car is empty, and when you sit near the window on one of the red seats, you realize you don't have a ticket. A burst of anxiety constricts your chest like ivy for a single moment, until you remember that this train is near-abandoned, so it is unlikely that you would need to have a ticket. There's no station, after all. You do have money, though, if it comes to that.

The train begins to chug forwards in no particular direction; you can't tell south from north here, but when you peer out the window, you immediately notice the Northern Star, bright and guiding as always. With a smile, you watch the pools of stars twinkle as the train rushes past them, leaving trails of white in your wake. Cattails sprout from the shore of the starry lake, stretching upwards into the atmosphere. If you are in space, you wonder where the air is and how you're even breathing or living. But that thought is soon forgotten when you hear the clack of the car door, and a small creature steps in. Within seconds, you recognize the soft gray ears and gasp.

“Albireo-san?” You ask, and the petite, bipedal Russian blue lifts his head with a friendly smile, eyes closed.

“Good evening, Fuga-kun. It's good to see you.” With his arms behind his back, he pads across the car over to where you're sitting. “May I?” He asks politely, and you nod, smiling.

“Yeah,”

“Thank you.”

Albireo takes the seat across from you, his small feet barely touching the floor. He's wearing a restaurant uniform: sky blue and tailored perfectly for a cat his size. Over his shoulder is his usual tan-colored messenger bag.

Feeling nervous suddenly, you grasp for something to talk about.

“Albireo-san, where are you headed?” You ask him, and he nods, eyes still closed.

“Just a little further. I need some ingredients for the restaurant, you see.”

“Are they only found on this...” For a moment, you don't know what to call it— where you are. “Over here?” You try, and he nods again.

“Yes. I come here occasionally, however...” Albireo glances up at you now, bright ruby eyes twinkling with interest. “I did not expect to see you here. Although, I shouldn't be surprised.”

“You shouldn't?”

He taps his chin with a gray paw, smiling thoughtfully. “This railroad only appears to those who seek it. There is some degree of magic and wonder here, and not many can see or feel it, you see. Meow.”

“But I wasn't seeking it at all,” You reply, frowning in confusion. “I wanted to disappear elsewhere, from this world...”

“ _That_ world,” Albireo corrects, and you realize immediately that you might actually be in outer space. “That wish summoned the train. And now you are here.”

Perplexed, but with a strange sense of acceptance, you blink.

“...I see.”

The train chugs past a strange navy city, inhabited by birds and wolves, cats and mice, animals of all kinds. They walk beneath neon lights and obsidian scaffolding, each creature bipedal and dressed in their daily clothing just like Albireo. The exchanging of groceries or handshakes, a bouquet of flowers sold, or the passing of newspapers. A neon city of eternal night, only lit by the galaxies and stars around it. Vaguely, you wonder if this is where Albireo is from, before the city disappears behind you, already a small spot in the past.

Quietly, you face your friend again. He's fiddling around with a pocket watch, checking the time and wiping the surface with the back of his paw. Wordlessly, you watch him do this for a few minutes.

“Fuga-kun,” Albireo speaks eventually, and you straighten your back.

“Yes?”

“You are awfully quiet.” He observes, before glancing up at you with inquisitive crimson eyes. “Did something happen?”

Your cheeks feel hot as a result, knowing that no one can read your emotions better than Albireo. Deeming it useless to lie, you drop your head, glancing outside the window.

“It's nothing new,” You start, regretting your own emotions and hating yourself for showing them. “As always, I felt anxious being around people... I had to escape somehow. I felt like dying.”

Without reason, you refrain from lifting your head, out of fear of seeing Albireo's reaction. Biting your lip, you squeeze your eyes shut, as if to block out everything around you. A short silence follows, until you blurt out somewhat exasperatedly, “I don't like being around others,”

You feel a small tap on your knee.

Blinking at the petite paw on your leg, you bite back any tears or fear and face Albireo. He smiles in understanding, and gently pats your hand.

“It is alright if you cannot be around people, Fuga-kun. You must take care of yourself. Your well-being is very important, after all.”

“Albireo-san...” You inhale gently, holding back tears. He continues, placing both paws in his lap.

“No matter how many times you may feel that way, it is never 'nothing'. And I will never grow tired of reassuring you of such. I am more than happy to comfort you,” Albireo closes his eyes once again and chuckles. “And it seems this train feels the same as well. Meow.”

A sense of euphoria sprouts in your chest, warm and expansive, and you can't help the smile that pulls at your lips.

“Yes, thank you, Albireo-san...!”

The train ride continues calmly now, nearly every ounce of anxiety disappearing from your chest. Albireo tells you about his restaurant duties as he asks about your work at the local dry cleaners back home. You're describing one of the new stray cats you've found when you notice Albireo pulling a slip of paper from the bag slung over his shoulder. He notices the questioning expression on your face and gestures outside.

“We will be arriving soon, I believe.” He holds out a small ticket for you to see. “Will you be joining me, Fuga-kun?”

“I'd love to...!” You respond instantly, perhaps a bit too eager. Then you realize with a sinking feeling in your gut, “Ah, but I don't have a ticket...”

Albireo offers you an amused smile before tilting his head down with a modest chuckle.

“Hoho. Check your pockets again, Fuga-kun.”

Somewhat doubtful, you reach into your pants pocket and touch a crumpled piece of paper. You gasp and pull it out.

“A ticket? But how...”

“Ah, how curious. It seems you were destined to come here, hoho.” Albireo smiles, and you blink at him in disbelief before sighing with a helpless smile.

“It's a shame we can't stay longer.” Albireo tells you after you've both handed the tickets to the conductor. “There are many more lovely sights beyond the galaxy meadow.”

“I...wouldn't mind coming again,” You admit in an embarrassed mumble, stepping off the train carefully. The starlit grass is soft beneath your shoes, and Albireo's feet disappear completely within the field.

“If you wish it.” He nods, placing a small, cat-fitted beret over his head. He turns to you with a welcoming smile on his face and says, “Now then, would you care to accompany me to the marketplace, Fuga-kun?”

This time, you let the smile cross your face, full and genuine.

“Yes!”

 


End file.
